The Carolina Mudcats outhit the Lynchburg Hillcats, 8-7, but still ended up losing their Thursday game, 2-1. Carolina's James Roberts picked up a third of the team's hits while also recording one RBI. Benny Suarez took the loss for the Mudcats while Ben Heller was saddled with a blown save.

Welcome to IBI's midseason top 30 prospect rankings. Now that we are at the All-Star break and more than half of the way through the minor league season, Jim Piascik is re-ranking the top prospects in Cleveland's system, including the risers, the fallers, those who stayed steady, and the newly drafted. Join Jim in part two of his rankings, where he breaks down #15 through #1.

The organization had a few All-Stars in action Wednesday night, though none really had a stellar performance that stood out. The same could be said for Carolina third baseman Yandy Diaz, though the bigger picture is much more encouraging when it comes to the 22-year-old. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps Diaz's debut season to date, updates you on a few rehabbing players in Arizona, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Carolina Mudcats rallied to take a 4-3 win against the Lynchburg Hillcats after scoring the winner in the top of the ninth inning. Carolina totaled 10 hits on the evening, sparked by two-hit games from Luigi Rodriguez and Jerrud Sabourin. Jacob Lee was saddled with a blown save, but still picked up the win as Grant Sides finished the game with a scoreless ninth.

Welcome to IBI's midseason top 30 prospect rankings. Now that we are at the All-Star break and more than half of the way through the minor league season, Jim Piascik is re-ranking the top prospects in Cleveland's system, including the risers, the fallers, those who stayed steady, and the newly drafted. Join Jim in part one of his rankings, where he breaks down those who fell just short in addition to #30 through #16.

The Carolina Mudcats had one of their best weeks of the season this week, reeling off five wins in six games. At week’s end, Carolina sits atop the second-half Southern Division standings at 16-10, two games ahead of first-half champion Myrtle Beach. Join Zachary Francis as he recaps the past week for the Mudcats in his weekly notebook and profiles Erik Gonzalez, who is making the necessary strides to become a top prospect.

Though the major league teams are all on break for the All-Star game, that is not the case in the minors. Arthur Kinney recaps Monday's night's action throughout the system, including Alex Lavisky possibly snapping out of his recent funk and Jesus Aguilar's performance at the Triple-A home run derby. For all that and more, join Arthur as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Carolina Mudcats fell behind 3-2 before putting up four runs in the sixth inning to beat the Winston-Salem Dash, 6-4. Carolina totaled nine hits while giving up just six to the Dash on its way to the win. Clayton Cook got the win, Ben Heller was credited with a his first hold of the season, while Josh Martin picked up his first save of the year.

It was a big night for some of the top prospects in the system, with Francisco Lindor representing the organization in the Futures Game and Jesus Aguilar and Clint Frazier staying hot. As we head into the All-Star break, Arthur Kinney has you covered, recapping the performances of those top prospects and everyone else throughout the system. Join Arthur as he takes you Around the Farm.

Behind an eighth inning rally, the Winston-Salem Dash came from behind to steal a victory from the Carolina Mudcats, 5-4, on Sunday. A three-run homer from Courtney Hawkins capped the comeback as the Dash ended Carolina’s five-game win streak.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. After looking at the hitters last week, today we focus on the pitchers. This week's edition includes a look at a pair of left-handers in the lower levels -- Ryan Merritt and Luis Lugo -- who are both performing quite well, though their ERAs kind of skew the story. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down the truth behind Merritt and Lugo's respective ERAs in addition to the rest of the organization's pitchers as he takes you into The WAR Room.

In the early part of the season, Clint Frazier's performance did not truly look the part of a high first round pick. It was still early for the center fielder, however, and the lack of results was not truly a big problem. Lately, however, Frazier has turned things around and started to put up some big numbers. Join Arthur Kinney as he outlines Frazier's recent tear and recaps the rest of the action from the minor leagues, taking you Around the Farm.

the Carolina Mudcats rallied from a one run deficit to win their fifth straight contest on Saturday night as they squeaked out a 2-1 win over the Winston-Salem Dash. The Mudcats scored a run in both the sixth and seventh inning to recover from a early home run from the Dash.

An Erik Gonzalez grand slam propelled the Carolina Mudcats to a 9-2 win over the Winston-Salem Dash on Friday. The Mudcats threatened to open the scoring in the bottom of the first after Gonzalez’s one out base hit to right. The Carolina shortstop took big leads off first, noticeably perturbing Dash starter Angel Sanchez (1-1, 4.26).

In today’s Minor Happenings, Tony Lastoria reviews the season that Low-A Lake County first baseman Nellie Rodriguez is having to date and the development process he has gone through with his coaches to bring more consistency to his bat. He also provides an absolute ton of comments from Ross Atkins on players up and down the system such as Giovanny Urshela, Ryan Merritt, Shawn Morimando, Clint Frazier, Eric Haase, Francisco Mejia, and many more.

Well, LeBron James is still undecided. Or maybe he isn't. Who knows? But unlike James, one star in the Cleveland organization was ready to go Thursday night. Francisco Lindor may be having a slightly down season compared to his high standards, yet the shortstop still looks ready for a promotion sooner rather than later. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down Lindor's night, recaps the rest of the action throughout the system, and takes you Around the Farm.

The Carolina Mudcats gave up 17 hits, but still managed to take a 11-6 win against the Lynchburg Hillcats behind 15 hits of their own. Every pitcher in the game gave up at least tow hits, with the two starters combining to give up 18 hits total. Five different Akron batters had multi-hit games, while Alex Monslave hit a seventh-inning grand slam.

Most of Cleveland seemed to come to a standstill while awaiting LeBron James' announcement on Wednesday, an announcement we are all still waiting to bear witness to. But while there was mostly inaction regarding The Decision 2.0, the minor leagues provided plenty of action, including Erik Gonzalez showing more signs of life following a bit of an extended slump. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down Gonzalez's season to date and the rest of the action throughout the organization as he takes you Around the Farm.

After their game Tuesday was suspended, the Carolina Mudcats finished strong with a 12-4 win against Lynchburg, including a seven-run eighth inning. Carolina totaled 17 hits before getting ready for the nightcap against the Hillcats. The Mudcats took their originally scheduled game as well, beating the Hillcats 5-4 behind eight total hits.

It was a week of streaks for the Mudcats, completing a season long four-game winning streak to start the week and finishing the week with a three game losing streak. The IBI's Zachary Francis recaps the week that was for the Mudcats and also recently sat down with righty Adam Plutko to talk about his transition to Carolina.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!